Abraham Essay, Research Paper

Abraham

Abraham, also known as Abram is most commonly known for being the Father of the

Jewish people. The majority of the information found on Abraham is located in

the Old Testament’s Book of Genesis. Other than that, there are no real

historical records on the life of Abraham, so the history of his life was passed

by word of mouth, and were there after made into biblical stories. There is also

the question if Abraham really lived, do to the little information available on

his life. Abraham is most famous for making his Covenant with God.

Abraham would have lived somewhere between the years of 2000 and 1500

BC. He was born in the city of Ur. Abraham’s real name was Abram. The father of

Abram , Terach, had two other sons , Haran and Nachor. While living in the city

of Ur , Abram married his half-sister, Sarai who later took on the name of

Sarah. The newlyweds later learned that Sarai was sterile. They then traveled

north to Charan, accompanied by Abraham’s father Terach. While in Charan Terach

died. It was in Charan where God made his first of a series of revelations to

Abram. God spoke to Abram, and told him that he would promise to bless him and

make a great nation of him. Abram willingly decided to follow God to the city of

Canaan. Abram not only traveled with his wife on this journey, but he also

picked up his nephew, Lot. He lived his life in Canaan as a Nomad. Famine

eventually struck the land of Canaan , forcing Abram and his family to move on

to Egypt.

In Egypt, Abram was fearful that the Egyptians would kill him and take

his wife Sarai if they were to discover that the two were married. Abram

attempted to cover this up by telling everyone that he and Sarai were just

brother and sister. The Pharaoh demanded that Sarai be brought to his palace,

and as result, God sent down plagues which devastated all of Egypt. In a

desperate attempt to save his kingdom, Pharaoh decided it would be best to send

Abram and Sarai away.

Abram and his family returned to Canaan after the Famine had ended. Both

Lot and Abraham had great wealth in Canaan. The two both owned livestock, and

large quantities of silver and gold. Eventually Abram and Lot found that the

land could no longer provide the resources that the two men required of it. The

two went their separate ways, Lot going to the Jordan Plain, and Abram staying

in Canaan. God once again appeared to Abram and revealed the land that he would

some day give to Abram and his children. This time, God promised Abram that his

offspring would be of so many that no one would be able to count them, just like

the dust of the earth.

By this time a great war had started up in the Jordan Plain. As a result

of the war, Lot was made a imprisoned by King Chedorlaomer of Elam. When Abram

got word that his cousin Lot was being held prisoner, he and a group of his

servants went to battle the captors. The army was able to successfully rescue

Lot and several other prisoners. Abram was then blessed by priest Melchizedek,

the king of Salem, for his brave heroic actions.

By this point, Abram and Saraia still have no children. Saria tells

Abram to go and wed their slave Hagar, and to have Children with her. Abram does

so, and has a son, Ishmael. While Hagar was pregnant, fights between Hagar and

Saria began to break out questioning each other on who was the real mistress of

the house. Abram showed no favoring judgment over the two women, and restored

order in the house hold. Hagar eventually fled to the dessert due to the poor

treatment that Sarai was giving her. God eventually came down to Hagar and told

her to go back home and that some day the baby she was carrying would be blessed.

Once Abram reached 99 years old, God made a Covenant with him promising

to make him the father of nations and to give Canaan to him and his offspring.

As part of the agreement of the Covenant, God required the circumcision of Abram

and his male descendants, This was to seal the covenant. God then made another

promise to Abram. God promised Abram that Sarai would soon bear a son, and that

she would some day be the mother of nations. Abram was said to have found God’s

last promise rather amusing. It was probably because Sarai was 90 years old and

incapable of bearing children anymore. Sarah was also witness to the promise of

a child, for God sent angels to her promising that she would have a male son.

The last part of God’s covenant was that the name Abram be changed to Abraham,

and Sarai changed to Sarah. Abraham means “Noble Father”. Through this covenant,

God was planning to send his savior.

God once again confided in Abraham by telling him that he was plotting

to soon destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah due to the corruptness of their

inhabitants. Upon hearing this, Abraham pleads with God telling him that their

are many innocent people that do not deserve to die. God reconsidered, and

agreed that if he could find 50 innocent people he would not destroy the two

cities. Under pressure from Abraham, he reduced the number to just 10 innocent

people. God sent his Angels out in search of just 10 righteously guided people.

Upon reporting back to God, the angels were only able to find Lot to be innocent

and good. God then appeared to Lot and told him to take his entire family and to

leave. Lot’s wife later disobeys God’s orders to leave, and she is turned into a

pillar of salt.

Abraham’s family then migrated to Negev. While traveling through the

city of Gerar, he once again is fearful of Sarah being taken from him, so he and

Sarah tell everyone that they are Brother and Sister. This time, Abimelekh, the

King of Gerar, took Sarah away. God then appeared to King Gerar in a dream. King

Gerar later returns Sarah to Abraham and gave him extra compensation to make up

for his mistake of taking Sarah away.

Some time later, Sarah had the son that God promised her. Sarah laughed

upon the birth of the child so they named the child Isaac. The term Issac means

“he laughed” in Hebrew. Sarah finds that Ishmael is a terrible influence on

Isaac, so she tells Abraham to send him away with his mother. Abraham at first

is very reluctant to send away his first born son, but God suggests that Abraham

listens to what his wife Sarah has asked. God also promised that some day

Ishmael would have his own nation.

Once Isaac was slightly older, God commanded Abraham to take Isaac to a

mountain and to sacrifice him at the top. This was an ultimate test that God

gave to Abraham. Being God’s servant, Abraham went as he was told with Isaac to

the top of a mountain in order to sacrifice his son. Abraham prepared to cut

Isaac’s throat, but just in the nick of time God’s angels stopped him. Seeing

that there was a ram caught in some bushes, Abraham sacrificed that to God

instead.

Sarah later died in Hebron. Abraham decided to buy the Makhpelah Cave

and the adjoining field from Ephrom the Hittite for a burial site. Abraham then

realized that Isaac should have a wife. Abraham sent one of his servants back to

his homeland to search out a wife for Isaac. The servant was able to find

Rebecca, Isaac’s cousin, and was able to get her to come back and marry Isaac.

Abraham also found himself marrying Keturah, a concubine. Abraham and Keturah

had 6 children , Zimran, Yakshan, Medan, Midian, Yishbak, and Shuach, before

dying at the biblical age of 175. Isaac and Ishmael buried their father in the

Makhpelah Cave next to their mother, Sarah.

In the end, God kept his promise with Abraham. Abraham was father to a

new nation, that’s how he got the title of Father to the Jewish people. The rest

of the bible primarily tells about the children of Abraham. Abraham is therefore

one of the most important early characters mentioned in the bible.